When i entered EngineerGirl for the first time i expected to see a group of extraordinary and gifted women, eager to make a difference in a world dominated by their male counterparts. I decided it would be there that i would pursue a new informational interview, a statement that proves that everyone is equal and there is no barrier to knowledge, determination and willpower.
Browsing through the short introductions and interviews, i found Sara Dolatshahi, a Nuclear Engineer that was interested in answering my questions for all of you. Thank you very much! I am honored to host your interview in my blog!
Let's transition to the interesting part already!
1) Welcome Sara, I am mostly pleased to host you today! Everyone in the engineering community in Uppsala was excited about your interview, i believe the rest of the world will be eager to learn from your experience too! Please give us a short introduction about yourself.
My name is Sara
Dolatshahi and I believe that we are put in this world to do extraordinary
work, to be unique and push ourselves to learn and do more each day. I am young
enough to still believe in the power of dreams but old enough to know that it
is through hard work and focus that I can realize any of my dreams.
I have a
bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Nuclear
Engineering from McMaster University. I am a professional Engineer and I have a
license from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to be in charge of
operating four 600 MW CANDU reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant. I am
in charge of Units 5-8, which produce electricity for millions of people in
Ontario, Canada.
My career is
not only technically challenging and rewarding but has also allowed me to have
a very comfortable lifestyle. I have the opportunity to travel at least twice a
year with my husband and 8 year old daughter, who are a big part of my life. Being
able to travel allows me to learn more about the world and at the same time to
rejuvenate and refocus on my dreams.
Aside from my
work and family, I like to present the nuclear power and engineering profession
to schools and professional organizations. I also like to mentor both on-line (i.e.
Engineer girl) as well as at work (to junior staff or as a part of leadership
academies).
My life passion
is to combine my technical knowledge and leadership skills to inspire the
younger generation to do more with their life. We must all dream big and not be
afraid of achieving extraordinary results.
2) This is exactly what I am trying to achieve here too, to stimulate and assist young minds like mine through the experience and wisdom you offer us through these lines. Richard Branson recently highlighted the importance of having a mentor, which makes your efforts look even more valuable. This is a tough career, one that is mostly dominated by men. What made you pick such a challenging and difficult career path?
What is difficult
is in the eyes of the beholder. I have always believed that everything can seem
difficult at first; however, taking the first step and not giving up can make
it easier and makes you get better at it. So I don’t really consider my career
any more difficult than any other profession. However, here is my story…
My father has
a Physics background and used to work for a refinery when I was growing up and
so from an early age I was fascinated by plants and complex processes that work
to make people’s lives easier. My curiosity in this area taught me that
understanding math and sciences were the foundation for an easier life. In high
school, I decided to pursue a career in Engineering and went on to graduate
from McMaster University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. I
had hopes of working either in the petrochemical industry (similar to my father)
or in the biomedical industry to develop medical tools and devices to help people.
However, in my final year at McMaster, the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) gave
a presentation on campus regarding careers in the nuclear industry and I found
splitting the nucleus of an atom to harness its massive amount of energy for the
betterment of communities to be really intriguing.
I applied, got
accepted and started working for OPG right after graduation in May 1999. OPG is
one of the largest power companies in North America, producing safe and
reliable power for homes, schools, hospitals and businesses in Ontario,
Canada.
I started in the
Regulatory Affairs and Reactor Safety as a Junior Engineer and worked with the Nuclear
Regulator (CNSC) to implement the new Act and Regulations and their
requirements in our nuclear power plant.
Although, this job was very exciting, it lacked the technical detail
that I liked on how a nuclear plant actually produces electricity.
To fulfill
this gap I completed my Masters in Nuclear Engineering on my spare time and
weekends while I was still progressing through my career and taking on higher
level of responsibilities. Although the Masters program taught me how a power
plant operates it was not practical enough to me and so in 2004, I accepted a project
leadership role in another department within the company. This role involved
developing tools to repair systems and components in the nuclear power plant.
It required research and collaboration with outside agencies to develop innovative,
one-of-a-kind repair techniques. These advanced ideas not only required
understanding of sciences and engineering principles but also strong leadership
skills. Again, although this position
was groundbreaking and educational, it lacked active involvement in the production
of electricity. I wanted to be directly responsible for the production of
electricity as well as growing professionally to be a part of the senior
leadership team. As such I decided to apply for my current position within the
company as a Control Room Shift Supervisor (CRSS).
This position
is a non-traditional role for me (for example, very few females, shift work and
a non-desk job), however, I am glad that I chose the path least traveled as I
find my job very rewarding. It challenges me to learn something new every day,
be it technical or leadership skills, including decision-making,
problem solving, communication and time management skills.
3) I not only admire your dedication to pursue this career, but also your quest for knowledge, detail and growth. Many people would simply welcome the job and stay stationary. But you wanted more, you wanted to understand how things work, to make the world a better place and be amongst the front runners. However, this must include overcoming many obstacles along the way. What was your greatest motivation in succeeding and overcoming these obstacles?
Doing
things that others can’t or won’t, or only dream of doing has been my
inspiration to tackle challenging work.
I
am a goal-oriented individual. Once I set a goal I don’t quit until I achieve
it. This does not mean that I do not adjust or correct my course along the way,
but it means that once I set my mind to something,
I take however many paths required to persist until I succeed. My goal for wanting to be a part of the
senior management team of my company has helped me overcome a lot of obstacles
that I’ll discuss later regarding how I got to be where I am in my career.
In
addition, wanting to be an inspiration to those starting after me and showing
that great achievements are possible with hard work and smarts has been another
motivation for me to set high goals and not give up on them. This is why I
really appreciate people like you that help the next generation of students to
be great leaders.
4) "Once i set a goal I don't quit until I achieve it." I consider this to be a very important phrase, as I believe having a definite goal in your mind will help you figure out ways to materialize it. Thank you for your kind words! Seeing successful people like you give freely back such valuable information to the world is astonishing and rewarding. Speaking about rewards, you have mentioned that this is a rewarding career, would you recommend it to aspiring young students and engineers?
Absolutely. A
career in nuclear engineering is one of the best careers out there and is well
respected. The role of CRSS is not only technically challenging and financially
rewarding, but also makes you feel that you are actually contributing to the well-being
of people. At the end of your work day, you can be happy to know that you and
your crew were responsible for the safe generation of electricity for millions
of people, including power for hospitals, schools, and businesses – not many
people can say that. The value of your work is especially amplified when a
black out happens and millions of people are left without life essentials or
conveniences (power for lighting, heating, phones, computers, medical devices etc.). Life would be pretty difficult and dull were
it not for the electricity generated by the people who sacrifice their days, nights
and weekends to providing a lot of life necessities.
5) You really speak with excitement and passion about your work, as well as with pride. You do a job that you love, while you also give back to the world in a way like Prometheus did in Greek mythology. Therefore i believe that apart from the personal satisfaction the salary is more than adequate for the hard work you put in every day?
Yes. CRSS pay
is commensurate with the level of responsibility associated with this role as
well as the job and training demands. As a result, CRSSs are highly paid, receiving
satisfying wages, guaranteed monthly bonuses and annual performance bonuses
contingent on the overall performance of their crew. A typical CRSS can make
between 180-250K (Canadian) per year. However,
as mentioned earlier, it is the personal satisfaction at the end of the day
that makes it really worthwhile.
6) This is why i feel people like you are special. You think outside the box and really try to see the bigger picture. I feel that way too! I had an amazing job for greek standards, but it was not fulfilling. I wanted to make a difference, to travel, to make the world safer and a better place. Your words inspire me and make me feel sure that I am on the correct path. And that money is simply a reward for your outstanding contributions to society. Succeeding takes more than brains though. Please share with us the 3 most important traits/perks that a person who wants to succeed in life and this engineering path should have.
1. Being passionate, having
curiosity and staying hungry for knowledge. By that, I mean wanting to learn
and do more each day, not being satisfied with mediocrity and pushing yourself
each day to learn something new or be better than the day before.
2.
Perseverance.
By that, I mean not giving up at the first sight of difficulty or a failure. I learned a while ago that failure is just a
type of feedback and makes you grow and learn.
3.
Having
goals and dreams. This is especially important to help you with the two points
above. Once you have a goal, you need to learn everything you can to find ways
to achieve your goal. Have a “never give up” attitude to achieve it, as goals
keep you focused and give you a sense of purpose.
7) I could write a whole essay about the things you just mentioned. I feel blessed and extremely happy that my readers and I have the same mindset regarding goals and knowledge and it's a validation to hear this from a person of your stature. However nothing comes in a silver plate, you have to work for it as previously mentioned. Please Sara, share with us the toughest challenges you encountered during your studies/career?
I would say
that the toughest challenge that I encountered during my career was obtaining
my license as a Control Room Shift Supervisor (CRSS). The CRSS role is an
authorized position requiring a license from the Federal government and the
process for getting accepted into the program and licensed is very challenging.
It required overcoming a number of obstacles and hurdles along the way.
I had to complete an
essay, an aptitude test, a behavior-based oral interview and have the recommendation
of upper management. After being accepted into the program, I had to receive an
additional 4 years of intense training and testing, in order to fully
understand how electricity is produced safely and demonstrate my knowledge of
the operation of the nuclear power plant. The training program is very heavy and
requires learning and retaining a substantial amount of technical material in a
relatively short time frame. A commitment of 8 hours of training per day and
additional study time in the evenings and the weekends was necessary.
The training
program is intense, requiring a high level of attention to detail and precision
involving the application of various diagnostic and decision making skills. In
addition to paper based examinations, I had to demonstrate analytical and
decision making skills under high pressure during high fidelity simulation
exercises. During these exercises, I was evaluated frequently and received direct
critiques of my performance. Performances that would not meet a certain
standard would result in remedial action or removal from the program. As a
result, the failure rate of this program is high and some of my colleagues were
not successful in completing the program. The ongoing stress associated with
the program or the workload can be demoralizing for those remaining in the
program, adding further stress to the workload.
I found the practical
simulation exams to be especially challenging as I was not used to them. All my life, I was used to completing written
exams where you have time to re-read your answers and change them as you see
fit. However, a practical exam forces you to think on your feet and does not
allow you to change your answers. Each practical exam required you to respond
to them in a calm manner while maintaining command and control of the
situation. For me, the hardest part of all this was overcoming the fear of
failure, not wanting to make a mistake that would result in remediation. At the
beginning, all of the constant criticism left me feeling like a failure, until
one day one of my instructors said something that really resonated with me. He told
me that failure is just a feedback and I need to take it and correct my ways to
reach my goal. Once I stopped being afraid of making mistakes and started to
think of the best way to respond, the training became much easier for me. Throughout
this journey however, there were times that I thought of quitting, but what
kept me motivated was my goals and the clear vision I had for where I wanted to
go.
The
Control Room Shift Supervisor (CRSS) is a key leadership position in a nuclear
power plant and holds a lot of prestige within the industry. For career
oriented people like myself with aspirations of advancing to greater leadership
roles and increased responsibilities, it was a requirement to be able to
advance in my career. My goal of wanting to be part of the senior leadership
team as well as the desire for a sense
of personal and professional achievement that only select few ever get to
achieve (first female in the history of Pickering Nuclear units 5 to 8) helped
me overcome my obstacles.
8) I cannot stress enough what an impact your words (or your instructor's) can have for anyone that reads this interview. We will be reading these underlined phrases for quite some time. I admire your determination and hunger. This leads me to my next point though. I see loads of people that are either unambitious or have no clear career goal. What is your suggestion to them?
I would say
that a person without a goal is like a docked boat without a destination. Even
if the boat left the harbor by chance, it would end up either going in circles
or not going very far, out of fear of not knowing where it’s going. We all need
to have goals in life, and although we may not know how to get there, our
intentions will help find the path to it.
Setting goals
will give clarity on what you want and ensures that you spend your efforts on
things that matter. For instance, my goal for wanting to be a part of the
senior management team of my company has helped me spend a lot of my weekends
and nights studying, as opposed to just watching TV or doing other low value
activities.
Goals keep
you motivated and give you a sense of purpose. I find that even if I don’t
achieve all my goals (at least in the time frame I have set for myself), I learn
so much along the way that it’s worth setting the goals alone. Do remember that once you achieve your goals, you
shouldn’t be satisfied by just that – set higher goals and work towards
achieving your next level of goals.
9) Power brings great responsibility. There is a common myth and misconception regarding nuclear power and its misuses. Help us bust that myth and realize it's true potential.
Nuclear
energy has been used safely for more than 50 years in many countries. It continues
to be one of the cleanest and cheapest forms of energy. Just one of the nuclear
reactors that I am in charge of can power approximately 3 million homes and is equivalent
to 600 wind turbine generators.
Nuclear
energy is very clean because when the nuclear plant is safely operated, it produces
no harmful chemicals such as heavy metal toxins, carbon dioxide or methane,
which are largely responsible for greenhouse effects in the environment.
Nuclear energy is also very efficient and requires very little fuel since the
amount of energy released from the splitting of uranium is about 60 million
times as much as when a carbon atom burns. Nuclear energy is also reliable and
does not rely on external factors such as weather (i.e., wind or sun).
Another
benefit of the nuclear energy is that some of its byproducts are used for other
useful purposes. For instance, the EXIT signs that glow in the dark, often
contain a radioactive gas called tritium, which is a radioactive isotope of
hydrogen produced from neutron interaction with heavy water used in a nuclear
power plant, such as the one I work at. These signs do not require electricity
or batteries and can be used wherever it’s hard to install electric signs. They
form an important safety function during power outages and pose little or no
threat to public health or safety. In addition, during safe production of
electricity using nuclear energy, we can also produce isotopes that can be used
for radiation therapy or diagnosis of cancer.
Finally,
nuclear power plants provide quality long-lasting jobs and a higher than
average quality of life for their employees. Nuclear energy is clean and powerful
and has tremendous benefits. However,
like any other form of energy, if not used responsibly, it has the potential to
harm. Take fire for example, if used carelessly, it can burn down your house
but when used cautiously it will warm up your home and food to a point that you
cannot imagine your life without it.
10) I love how you use metaphors and stories to illustrate the important points. Everything has to be handled with care and to be used for the common good and benefit, instead of destruction. I remember talking about engineering and the vast percentage of men in this field. How easy is it for a woman in the modern world to climb up the ladder?
Easy, if you
are willing to put the effort into it. Like anything else in life, nothing
comes easy. You need to really want to
climb up the ladder and be willing to work hard at it. As a woman, because of
people’s perception or background, sometimes you may have to work harder to
prove yourself. However, once you have proven that you are knowledgeable and hardworking,
as a woman you may even have some advantages over men. Traditionally feminine traits
of being more passionate, caring, and collaborative, in combination with your capability
to multi-task and being observant will help you be a better leader. You are
also better recognized and remembered by senior management if your work speaks
for itself. Of course, if your work is sub-standard or just mediocre, it will
be remembered more as well. That has
really motivated me to not only do my best, but to do a little bit more than my
colleagues and that extra effort has never gone unnoticed.
11) Doing more than what you are paid for. Taking the initiative. Doing quality work. Sounds like one of the Laws of Success. Which remind me i have not asked you one of the most intriguing questions so far. What is the most interesting part of your job and what is the hardest?
The most interesting
part of my job is being responsible for aligning all the different work groups
in the organization and providing direction to them to work toward a common
goal. Achieving goals such as bringing a unit on line and producing electricity
after being shut down for a while is very rewarding. It is rewarding to know that
you have control over what gets done in the station and what would be deferred. It is also satisfying to be in charge of a group of highly
trained nuclear professionals and to effectively exercise my powers to
influence key decisions for the benefit of the organization.
The hardest
part of the job is dealing with substandard performance of individuals. However, over the years, I have learned that to
be a caring boss, I need to be a coach and not a critic to my staff. Hence, if I approach the individuals as a
coach and from a point of view of wanting to improve their performance because
I care, the coaching becomes much easier.
12) You give us food for though and room for improvement with each answer. You work in Canada, a country that supports multi-culture, is environmental friendly and home to brilliant minds. It reminds me of Sweden, the country that i currently reside and study. Being eco-friendly and sustainable is a major priority here. Would you give us your advice/suggestions on how to improve our university towards that goal?
You need to persist
in doing little things, consistently. It takes some time to change people’s
mindset, however, every movement in the world started with only one or two
people. What you need to do is to create a club and set some goals or you could
join one if it already exists for this purpose. Then you need to create an environment
where people want to become more eco-friendly as well as model good behavior
and not just educate. I find that
educating people to be more environmentally conscience is not enough. People
are often more influenced by social norms than common sense. So for instance,
if you could encourage your school to install more fountains or filtered water
taps then you create an environment where it would be much easier to drink from
those means rather than by buying plastic water bottles. Also, you and your
club members would have to model those behaviors to get the first followers to
do the rest for you.
Another small
change could be going paperless in the university. That means using no hard
books, notes or physical paper copies for assignments. This may already be the
norm among students, however, some of the professors being from a different
generation may have a different view point. Encouraging the professors towards
this approach and letting the university know how much money they are losing by
providing paper copies instead of electronic notes could help.
One other
simple technique for becoming more eco-friendly at school is using less carbon
emitting forms of transportation. For instance, you could convince your school
to establish a free bus service from the school to anywhere in the city or have
a bike rental/sharing program.
There are
many other ways of having an eco-friendly school, however, as I’ve said before,
the first step is to establish a goal and then surround yourself with
like-minded people willing to go out there with you and make small changes.
Then slowly build on your successes and set new goals as a collective, and go
out there and achieve those too!
13) We live in Uppsala, a town that promotes biking as the dominant means of transport and EURO6 bio-gas fueled buses. We are proud to see that some of your suggestions are already a reality here, while we, as environmental scientists, will try to promote your ideas and think of new to make this world a better place. This brings me to the end of this magnificent interview, followed by a short conclusion/epilogue from you.
Life is about
learning and realizing that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Once you realize that, everything will come easier to you. Your fears will disappear
and you can take steady steps towards your dreams. At the same time, mistakes
and failures will happen, that is just part of being human, but you need to learn
from your mistakes and correct your path along the way to align yourself with your
goals. As the saying goes, sometimes the
wind is against you – but remember, although you cannot change the wind, you
can adjust your sail and as long as you persist you will succeed. I wish you and
your readers all the best in your studies and your future endeavors.
This punchline marks the end of this incredible journey. I feel blessed, excited and wiser already. I have been given more food for thought on how to become a better person, motivated by knowledge, wisdom and the quest for a better world, rather than greed and power. This blog is slowly growing, it is mostly about my experience and studies, or why you should pick Sweden for your next destination. It is supposed to be fun and spontaneous. But it is quality interviews like this that manage to stand out, the real message i want to pass over to the world.
Thank you for being a part of our experience Sara, for taking so much out of your precious time to teach us and educate us, to give us a glimpse of your life and help us become a force, a new generation of bright minds and future leaders!
Goodnight Sweden and remember: What you believe, you CAN do!
Edit: You can also read my previous interview with Sandie Will here.
Edit: You can also read my previous interview with Sandie Will here.
